Statement by the Archbishop of Canterbury concerning the Roman Catholic document ‘Dominus Iesus‘ [ACNS 2219 – Lambeth Palace, 5 September 2000] By restating the long-held view of the Roman Catholic Church on the position of other Christian churches, this document breaks no new ground. But neither does it fully reflect the deeper understanding that has … Read more »… lire la suite »

CHICAGO (ELCA) — The general secretary of the Lutheran World Federation (LWF) said Sept. 8 that he is “disappointed” that 35 years of ecumenical dialogue between Lutherans and Roman Catholics apparently were not considered when the Vatican issued a document earlier this week and sent a letter in June to presidents of Roman Catholic Bishops’ … Read more »… lire la suite »

Thirty representatives from throughout the world gathered from 9-11 September 2000 at Fuller Theological Seminary, Pasadena, California, to explore the idea of a Global Christian Forum that would include a wide spectrum of churches and organisations. Those present came from Orthodox, Roman Catholic, Anglican, Reformation Protestant, Pentecostal and Evangelical churches as well as Christian networks and … Read more »… lire la suite »

A week after publishing a document which casts doubt on the validity of Protestant Christianity and asserts Roman Catholic superiority over all other churches, the Vatican continues to draw criticism both from other churches and from within its own ranks.

The general secretaries of two organizations representing major wings of Protestantism have publicly lamented the harm done to ecumenism by Dominus Iesus, on the Unicity and Salvific Universality of Jesus Christ and the Church, published on Sept. 5 by the Vatican’s Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. The document declares that churches that do not have a “valid Episcopate [bishops] and the genuine and integral substance of the Eucharistic mystery are not churches in the proper sense.”

The United Church has dropped an attempt to substitute gender-neutral language for “Father, Son and Holy Spirit” in the baptism rite — a proposed change that caused concern among the church’s ecumenical partners, including the Anglican Church. About 100 groups and congregations last fall were asked their opinions of various new forms of the rite, said Fred Graham, liturgical officer for the United Church. The church is developing a new worship book, Celebrate God’s Presence. Conservatives, however, did not care for the changes — as Mr. Graham put it, “that sector in our church rose up” against alternate wording. Others felt, he said, that inclusive language was to be encouraged. At the same time, the United Church’s General Council Executive, which rules on matters of doctrine and faith, decided that such a fundamental change would need to be put to a church-wide vote. … Read more »… lire la suite »

The joint commission, appointed by the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity of the Roman Catholic Church and by the World Alliance of Reformed Churches, held its annual session at Mondo Migliore in Castel Gandolfo, near Rome, Italy, from September 13 to 19, 2000. This was the third session of the third round of this international bilateral dialogue. The report of the first round, 1970-1977, was entitled The Presence of Christ in Church and World, and that of the second, 1984-1989, Towards a Common Understanding of the Church. … Read more »… lire la suite »

During the summer of 2000, the Vatican’s Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF) issued a declaration entitled “Dominus Iesus: On the Unicity and Salvific Universality of Jesus Christ and the Church”. In an interview published on 22 September 2000, the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung invited Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, to respond to the principal objections raised against the Declaration Dominus Iesus. The daily edition of L’Osservatore Romano subsequently published an Italian translation of the interview, omitting the parts that only concern the German situation. Here is a translation from the Italian version of the interview. … Read more »… lire la suite »